Many of the best venues are buried away down the city centre back streets, a case in point is the Chameleon Arts Café in Newcastle Chambers down Angel Row. It is a small eclectic place with a café downstairs with some quirky beers on sale and a 140-capacity venue upstairs. The venue is embraced by DIY promoters which presents the opportunity to catch some unusual and upcoming bands there.
My one criticism is the slightly cramped nature of the venue especially when busy caused by the small access to the venue but once you find your vantage point everything is ok again in the world!
My debut visit on 29/09/12 was to see a roster of bands and the first I encountered was Standard Fare, a decent indie pop trio from Sheffield with a C86 aesthetic and the slightly wonky vocals of Emma Kupa. The second band was Milky Wimpshake, a lo-fi indie trio from Newcastle who first appeared in 1997 and remain on the circuit to this very day. Their original drummer had the terrific name of Ms Joey Ramone and they had a knowing charm about them.
The penultimate act was a five piece from Brighton called Shrag prior to the headliners Anguish Sandwich. The main act was a frenetic garage punk band from Northampton with high pitched vocals from Chris East and remaining in the C86 vein they reminded me of Stump, another band from that era.
My second visit a couple of months later was to see the Nottingham stalwarts Grey Hairs for the third time. They were supported by an excellent energetic Spanish instrumental math rock three piece called Iepi. I would describe their sound as a more aggressive version of Leicester band Maybe She Will! Their 2014 album ‘New Wr’ is also well worth bending your ears around. They have supported Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and were the first Spanish band to play the post rock festival ArcTanGent held annually at Fernhill Farm in Somerset, which regretfully I have never yet attended.
My third and final appearance was on 24/10/15. Now I have never been a great fan of bands you might place in the Liverpool category of sound, though quite often having the jangly guitars, many bands from that area in my humble opinion sound too fey and lightweight.
However, that changed when I encountered Hooton Tennis Club in a live setting. I had heard some recorded output before and thought it sounded ok, but they were a revelation live with their diverse and inventive sound. The four-piece hailed from the Wirral and the name is taken from a local tennis court. Their debut album around the time was recorded by Bill Ryder Jones from the Coral and the band are currently on a hiatus.
Continuing the Spanish theme, they were supported by the Parrots who are a duo from Madrid. Their rootsy wonky charm reminded me of their city counterparts the Hinds.
When my brother first moved to Nottingham, he had a flat off Mansfield Road in Sherwood. Just prior to Christmas in 2016 we took a sally out that way and encountered some non-descript pubs including the Robin Hood, a traditional Greene King hostelry. Whilst there we encountered a local cover band called Little Angels.